How Tennessee can beat Georgia

[MemphisVol77]

Two weeks to prepare? We're off this week, then it's Kentucky, Miss State, UGA.

Doh!! I was up too late.......

 

[Dobbs 4 Heisman]

Games at Uga, where it will be just as loud as Neyland. That will affect Nico and the entire team. Not to mention uga's dline ; see what they did at Texas? Tall order to win at Georgia, but win the other games and make the Playoffs, then maybe catch them on a neutral field. Got to be realistic. UGA does amplify their crowd noise, and the offense will have difficulty with the signals. And Uga will make stopping the run a priority.

Which is why I said we need to bring our A game. You can get away with playing less than your best at home as well just did against Florida and Alabama. However, to win at Athens we will need to bring our A game. My contention is if we do play up to our potential I don't think there's a team in the country we can't beat. Even Georgia on the road.

I think you'll see Tennessee play to their full potential for 4 quarters against Georgia. And if we do that we're definitely gonna win. Cause us at our best is better than anything Georgia can muster.

 

[sami]

Let's just get there healthy and still with only one loss. Hard to evaluate a game three weeks and a couple of conference games in the future - the same thing was done here earlier and then Arkansas happened.

I'll reserve any prognostication until after we despose of Kentucky and Miss St., and we see Nico and this offense continue to progress. I'm just enjoying the hell out of the season and watching this program approaching the elite level we couldn't have even dreamed of five years ago.

The only thing I can guarantee is that Smart will have that team and fan base frothing at the mouth all week, but he'll probably need a new angle other than the "no one respects us" garbage.

 

[JohnWardForever]

Which is why I said we need to bring our A game. You can get away with playing less than your best at home as well just did against Florida and Alabama. However, to win at Athens we will need to bring our A game. My contention is if we do play up to our potential I don't think there's a team in the country we can't beat. Even Georgia on the road.

I think you'll see Tennessee play to their full potential for 4 quarters against Georgia. And if we do that we're definitely gonna win. Cause us at our best is better than anything Georgia can muster.

I admire your Optimism.

 

[JohnWardForever]

Let's just get there healthy and still with only one loss. Hard to evaluate a game three weeks and a couple of conference games in the future - the same thing was done here earlier and then Arkansas happened.

I'll reserve any prognostication until after we despose of Kentucky and Miss St., and we see Nico and this offense continue to progress. I'm just enjoying the hell out of the season and watching this program approaching the elite level we couldn't have even dreamed of five years ago.

The only thing I can guarantee is that Smart will have that team and fan base frothing at the mouth all week, but he'll probably need a new angle other than the "no one respects us" garbage.

Yep, and If Tenn wins all BUT at Uga, Hello playoffs!

 

[sjt18]

Why would anyone write that game off this year? UGA is still very talented but they're aren't as good or deep on D as they were at their peak a couple of years ago. They have vulnerabilities on O. They're currently 13th in the SEC in rushing... when was the last time that could be said about a UGA team? They generate O through the passing game but Beck hasn't been that great nor have their receivers. He's currently 6th in the SEC in QBR. Nico is right behind him at 7.

Their best game on O by far was their comeback attempt vs Bama with over 400 yds passing but only 80 rushing. Honestly... we all saw what could have been for UT vs Bama's secondary. Just off a little or UT could have had two or 3 more TDs and about 200 more passing yds.

They're still obviously a really good team. Very talented. But so is UT and UT's D is IMO better this year by a somewhat significant margin than UGA's.

 

[sjt18]

uhhhhh Kentucky first?

No harm in fans discussing future games. We have little if any impact on the team's one game focus.

 

[EconVol92]

From watching the Georgia Alabama game what I observed was that Georgia had success in throwing long passes and that seemed to work for us and that Alabama had success in running around the ends.

I think that Sampson and Nico running the ball wide could be the answer as Georgia appeared to be a little slow on defending the edges.

Just my observations for what they are worth.

 

[Delmar]

Excellent points. But I’m guessing Georgia will be under a 7 pt favorite and Kirby will still be using the “Nobody respects us” spiel. He will have them frothing at the mouth and we’ll have to withstand the initial punches.

 

[Delmar]

Excellent points. But I’m guessing Georgia will be under a 7 pt favorite and Kirby will still be using the “Nobody respects us” spiel. He will have them frothing at the mouth and we’ll have to withstand the initial punches.

That was to Sami’s post #53.

 

[FirstAndGoal]

There are other games to worry about first.

 

[Dobbs 4 Heisman]

I admire your Optimism.

No optimism. I'm going with what my eyes are telling me. Which is we're the best team in college football and if we bring our A game can't nobody beat us.

Optimism would be if I didn't think we were the best but were simply being hopeful. I'm not hoping for anything. I expect this team to win every game it plays.

 

[Other_Guy]

If Nico is only half as bad as he's been, they have a legitimate shot. I'm not joking. Beck sucks.
But to beat them he will have to be above average and I'm not sure he'll be there.

 

[Carp]

The main thing we need to do is stop turning the ball over. Nico has turned the ball over (7 times) nearly as many times as he has scored this year (9 times). Obviously not every fumble is his fault, but either way, we have to stop shooting ourselves in the foot on offense.

Along with that, we need to get off the field on 3rd down. The last 3 meetings against UGA, we have failed to do that. Hopefully with how good the defense is this year, we are able to force UGA to punt a lot more or at the very least, attempt FGs instead of getting TDs.

 

[rocketskates]

They can beat Georgia by pressuring Beck and making a handful of plays on offense. It's how we've won every game against a respectable opponent so far. Bonus points if we're losing 10-0 at half.

 

[rocketskates]

If Nico is only half as bad as he's been, they have a legitimate shot. I'm not joking. Beck sucks.
But to beat them he will have to be above average and I'm not sure he'll be there.

I'm truly optimistic that he turned a corner in the second half of the Bama game. I think the game is slowing down a little for him, and he's realized that he can make big plays with his legs. Once he forces the other team to run a spy on him, it will open things up quite a bit.

 

[Volbrando]

we need to beat Kentucky, then Miss State first... neither are cupcakes but we should beat them

We also need to start thinking about passing the eye test... there may be scenarios where we end up 10-2 but don't make the playoffs because we may not look as good as another team (right or wrong it could come to that)

 

[rocketskates]

The main thing we need to do is stop turning the ball over. Nico has turned the ball over (7 times) nearly as many times as he has scored this year (9 times). Obviously not every fumble is his fault, but either way, we have to stop shooting ourselves in the foot on offense.

Along with that, we need to get off the field on 3rd down. The last 3 meetings against UGA, we have failed to do that. Hopefully with how good the defense is this year, we are able to force UGA to punt a lot more or at the very least, attempt FGs instead of getting TDs.

I agree. Turnovers completely changed both the Florida and Alabama games. If we can drive down and score the first offensive possession of the game, and force a three and out or even a stop on the opponent's first drive...watch out. And I don't mean that sarcastically. Our team is meant to play from in front.

 

[bpalmer28]

If Nico is only half as bad as he's been, they have a legitimate shot. I'm not joking. Beck sucks.
But to beat them he will have to be above average and I'm not sure he'll be there.

You don’t think he was above average in quarters 2,3,4 last week?

 

[DirtyDawg]

Yep and Uga's Dline is nasty with probably 4 NFL caliber players, vs UT's Troubled OT's. Uga could be in Tenn's backfield a bunch, stopping the run and pressuring the QB. They don't allow much scoring....

I agree 100% that is exactly what the GA defense will attempt to do. They know that if the TN offense can successfully run the ball it could be a rough day. IMO they will sell out to shutdown the run in hopes of making Nico have to move the offense. They would love nothing more than getting TN in must pass situations and getting after Nico with Mykel Williams and Jaylon Walker. Although, I think it’s very likely that pursuing Nico will prove a much harder task than they had with Ewers so who knows?

I think it’s gonna be some good old smash mouth SEC football. TN will be trying the same I think in hopes of getting to Beck and/or putting him in situations where he has been prone to turn it over this season. The GA O-Line played well against Texas and Beck still made mistakes. It’s possible that the TN front seven proves an even tougher task if they can slow or stop GA’s rushing attack.

It’s hard to know how it will play out, but if either team can successfully run the ball it will be a huge factor in this game.

 

[unfrozencvmanvol]

But he is a mere mortal this year as he doesn’t have the NFL defense he had for his first two championships and this UGA offense is questionable….

I don't know man, did you watch their game against Texas the other night? #11 and #13 are first round draft pick type edge rushers, and Malaki Starks the safety is an All American type player too. I think they've been banged up some all year on defense and are starting to get some guys back. Beck is a definite downgrade from Stetson Bennett performance wise, but he tends to play well at home and unfortunately that is where we are going to have to play them. They are probably the best team in college football and we are going to need some turnovers I think to have a real chance. Maybe we'll get them, no one is unbeatable, especially not this year.

 

[DirtyDawg]

From watching the Georgia Alabama game what I observed was that Georgia had success in throwing long passes and that seemed to work for us and that Alabama had success in running around the ends.

I think that Sampson and Nico running the ball wide could be the answer as Georgia appeared to be a little slow on defending the edges.

Just my observations for what they are worth.

We have absolutely had trouble at times keeping contain this season, and if you guys can exploit that it could be trouble for us. Honestly, if TN can consistently have success in the run game it could be huge. And honestly I think this factor works both ways this game

 

[DirtyDawg]

Which is why I said we need to bring our A game. You can get away with playing less than your best at home as well just did against Florida and Alabama. However, to win at Athens we will need to bring our A game. My contention is if we do play up to our potential I don't think there's a team in the country we can't beat. Even Georgia on the road.

I think you'll see Tennessee play to their full potential for 4 quarters against Georgia. And if we do that we're definitely gonna win. Cause us at our best is better than anything Georgia can muster.

I’m of the opinion that your last sentence is a bit of a stretch, but I do think that both teams at their best could make for a very competitive game. I do however applaud your confidence, and I hope we see us both at our best.

 

[SaintLouisVol]

I don't think Ga will score a ton on UT. If Tennessee gets a defensive performance typical of this year and the crowd doesn't get in Nico's head, they will have a chance to win.

 

[volbound1700]

I agree 100% that is exactly what the GA defense will attempt to do. They know that if the TN offense can successfully run the ball it could be a rough day. IMO they will sell out to shutdown the run in hopes of making Nico have to move the offense. They would love nothing more than getting TN in must pass situations and getting after Nico with Mykel Williams and Jaylon Walker. Although, I think it’s very likely that pursuing Nico will prove a much harder task than they had with Ewers so who knows?

I think it’s gonna be some good old smash mouth SEC football. TN will be trying the same I think in hopes of getting to Beck and/or putting him in situations where he has been prone to turn it over this season. The GA O-Line played well against Texas and Beck still made mistakes. It’s possible that the TN front seven proves an even tougher task if they can slow or stop GA’s rushing attack.

It’s hard to know how it will play out, but if either team can successfully run the ball it will be a huge factor in this game.

Unless Nico and the offensive line have the best games of their life and play at a level we haven't seen yet, I think the only way Tennessee can beat Georgia is to just hold them to an absurdly low score of 10 points and under and Georgia would have to give us some turnovers with good field position.

Field position is going to be very important.